Raksha bandhan today: Special rakhis for sisters-in-law in demand

Lumbas — a type of rakhi — are aimed at making sisters-in-law feel special

A woman does some last-minute rakhi shopping at a roadside stall in Parel on Sunday.(Satyabrata Tripathy/HT)

Chintal Mota, a homemaker from Chembur, started tying a lumba — a type of rakhi — on her sister-in-law’s wrist three years ago, after she saw that the women in her family were doing the same. With a variety of ‘bhabhi’ rakhis flooding the market, she was spoilt for choice.

“All I knew about the tradition was that it is followed by Marwari families. I thought it was a good initiative, one aimed at making sisters-in-law feel special,” said Mota. These women celebrate raksha bandhan on Rishi Panchami (the fifth day of Bhadrapad month), and not Nariyal Purnima (a full-moon day in Shravan month).

Anandi Bang, a yoga trainer, has seen her grandmothers and mother tie lumba rakhi since she was a child. “We tie lumbas to the bangles of our sisters-in-law so our brothers live longer. Lumbas signify the length of one’s life,” said Bang.

This demand for lumbas has led to introduction of ‘couple rakhis’, which are more expensive than ordinary rakhis. This is why not all vendors have them in stock. However, vendors from markets in Bhuleshwar, Borivli, Malad, Ghatkopar, Mira Road and Kandivli said the demand for lumbas was so high, they were thinking of tapping into the couple rakhis market.

“As many as 70% of lumbas are manufactured and sold in Bhuleshwar, owing to the large Marwari and Gujarati population there,” said Jayesh Dalvi, who sells rakhis in Dadar market.

He said the concept of lumbas was introduced five years ago. “Those who did not have brothers started tying rakhis to their sisters. This is how lumbas came about,” said Dalvi.

He said few Maharashtrians or north Indians buy lumbas, thought Gujaratis have recently caught on to the trend.